Some vehicles in War Thunder don’t quite get the attention they deserve; therefore, I believe we, as a community must change this!
Starting today we are going to have a little competition here in our “Live War Thunder” Community.

Righto, time for round two you talented individuals. Did you miss us?

I think it’s perhaps time for some unloved axis planes. How about some bomber love? SM.79’s it is. Remember, keep them historical if you want to try to win some prizes. You have two weeks.

#unloved

A bit of an ugly duckling but we can change that with a bit of makeup..

You have two weeks to create your best historical SM.79 skins using any of our models in game, whichever one you prefer. The top 3 skins will be selected by the Live.WT moderation team. Each of these winners will receive a nice shiny SM.79 1937 or SM.79bis to add to the collection as well as 2000, 1000 and 500 Golden Eagles respectively.

More details you can find on Live.WT site!

Discuss it here!

Some vehicles in War Thunder don’t quite get the attention they deserve; therefore, I believe we, as a community must change this!
Starting today we are going to have a little competition here in our “Live War Thunder” Community.

Righto, time for round two you talented individuals. Did you miss us?

I think it’s perhaps time for some unloved axis planes. How about some bomber love? SM.79’s it is. Remember, keep them historical if you want to try to win some prizes. You have two weeks.

#unloved

A bit of an ugly duckling but we can change that with a bit of makeup..

You have two weeks to create your best historical SM.79 skins using any of our models in game, whichever one you prefer. The top 3 skins will be selected by the Live.WT moderation team. Each of these winners will receive a nice shiny SM.79 1937 or SM.79bis to add to the collection as well as 2000, 1000 and 500 Golden Eagles respectively.

More details you can find on Live.WT site!

Discuss it here!

Schweinfurt was a location which played host to a very large amount of production for Nazi Germany at the onset of World War II, a location which allied forces acknowledged as significant. Because of this, a series of Allies strategic bombing raids took place, aimed at the destruction of the factories located in the city, which would cripple the production of new tanks and aircraft, and hence, reduce the efficiency of German forces to the Allies’ advantage.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=487430504

Multiple raids took place with these intentions, but two of these raids: the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission and the Second Raid on Schweinfurt, proved particularly costly for the United States Army Air Forces. On the 17th of August 1943, 230 B-17’s of the USAAF 8th Air Force, which were intended to be a second wave of bombers following another force attacking Regensburg, took part in an intense anti-aircraft barrage, along with over 300 defending fighter aircraft. As a result, only 184 of the B-17’s were able to bomb their target, and 36 failed to return to their bases in England. However, this raid resulted in a drop in production equalling a 34% cutback, and all, except the largest of these plants, were devastated by fire. Despite this, the bulk of existing industrial infrastructure had not been conducive to destruction by a single raid. Efforts to disperse the remaining machinery began immediately, and in response to this, the Luftwaffe began deploying large numbers of interceptors along the corridor to Schweinfurt.

After regaining strength, the 8th Air Force mounted a second attack on the 14th of October 1943. This time, it proved even more costly than the first, and hence, adopted the name “Black Thursday”. During this raid, in which 291 B-17’s took part, only 229 were able to bomb their target, and a total of 60 were lost. which was considered to have been a heavy amount of losses. Consequently, it was established that heavy losses such as those experienced by the 8th Air Force could not be sustained, and hence, unescorted bomber raids deep into Germany were suspended until 1944. In the February of that year, raids into Schweinfurt resumed, during what came to be known as “Big Week”.




The Battle of the Caucasus refers to a series of operations which took place in the Caucasus area between Axis and Soviet forces, on the Eastern Front of World War II. From the German side, Operation ‘Edelweiss’ was planned in order to gain control of oil fields in Baku. This operation was authorised by Hitler on the 23rd of July 1942, and a large amount of preparation was made in order to carry out their plans. In fact, several German oil firms, which has been issued with leases to exploit the Caucasian oil fields, delivered large amounts of piping which would allow for oil transportation.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=487430504

Bombing the oil fields had been forbidden, and so, this event was marked by considerable amounts of tank forces leading the battle. The main forces included Army Group A, the 1st Panzer Army, the 4th Panzer Army, the 17th Army, part of the Luftflotte 4, and the 3rd Romanian Army. About 1,000 aircraft from the 4th Air Fleet were also involved.

From the Soviet point of view, the Caucasus area had become a new established hub of industry. As the German Army launched operation Edelweiss, the rate at which their forces advanced slowed, as they entered the mountains of the Southern Caucasus area. Although German forces had been able to neutralize a Soviet counter-attack, they were placed on the defensive after Soviet breakthroughs occurred in the region around Stalingrad.

The Germans began to withdraw in 1943, due to setbacks in other regions. Now on the defencive, they hoped through consolidation and regrouping, they would be able to re-establish their positions to launch new operations in the Caucasus. No considerable gains were made though, and in September 1943, the fighting effectively ended when fresh withdrawals were made by the Germans.

The War Thunder Team
Discuss it here!

Schweinfurt was a location which played host to a very large amount of production for Nazi Germany at the onset of World War II, a location which allied forces acknowledged as significant. Because of this, a series of Allies strategic bombing raids took place, aimed at the destruction of the factories located in the city, which would cripple the production of new tanks and aircraft, and hence, reduce the efficiency of German forces to the Allies’ advantage.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=487430504

Multiple raids took place with these intentions, but two of these raids: the Schweinfurt-Regensburg mission and the Second Raid on Schweinfurt, proved particularly costly for the United States Army Air Forces. On the 17th of August 1943, 230 B-17’s of the USAAF 8th Air Force, which were intended to be a second wave of bombers following another force attacking Regensburg, took part in an intense anti-aircraft barrage, along with over 300 defending fighter aircraft. As a result, only 184 of the B-17’s were able to bomb their target, and 36 failed to return to their bases in England. However, this raid resulted in a drop in production equalling a 34% cutback, and all, except the largest of these plants, were devastated by fire. Despite this, the bulk of existing industrial infrastructure had not been conducive to destruction by a single raid. Efforts to disperse the remaining machinery began immediately, and in response to this, the Luftwaffe began deploying large numbers of interceptors along the corridor to Schweinfurt.

After regaining strength, the 8th Air Force mounted a second attack on the 14th of October 1943. This time, it proved even more costly than the first, and hence, adopted the name “Black Thursday”. During this raid, in which 291 B-17’s took part, only 229 were able to bomb their target, and a total of 60 were lost. which was considered to have been a heavy amount of losses. Consequently, it was established that heavy losses such as those experienced by the 8th Air Force could not be sustained, and hence, unescorted bomber raids deep into Germany were suspended until 1944. In the February of that year, raids into Schweinfurt resumed, during what came to be known as “Big Week”.




The Battle of the Caucasus refers to a series of operations which took place in the Caucasus area between Axis and Soviet forces, on the Eastern Front of World War II. From the German side, Operation ‘Edelweiss’ was planned in order to gain control of oil fields in Baku. This operation was authorised by Hitler on the 23rd of July 1942, and a large amount of preparation was made in order to carry out their plans. In fact, several German oil firms, which has been issued with leases to exploit the Caucasian oil fields, delivered large amounts of piping which would allow for oil transportation.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=487430504

Bombing the oil fields had been forbidden, and so, this event was marked by considerable amounts of tank forces leading the battle. The main forces included Army Group A, the 1st Panzer Army, the 4th Panzer Army, the 17th Army, part of the Luftflotte 4, and the 3rd Romanian Army. About 1,000 aircraft from the 4th Air Fleet were also involved.

From the Soviet point of view, the Caucasus area had become a new established hub of industry. As the German Army launched operation Edelweiss, the rate at which their forces advanced slowed, as they entered the mountains of the Southern Caucasus area. Although German forces had been able to neutralize a Soviet counter-attack, they were placed on the defensive after Soviet breakthroughs occurred in the region around Stalingrad.

The Germans began to withdraw in 1943, due to setbacks in other regions. Now on the defencive, they hoped through consolidation and regrouping, they would be able to re-establish their positions to launch new operations in the Caucasus. No considerable gains were made though, and in September 1943, the fighting effectively ended when fresh withdrawals were made by the Germans.

The War Thunder Team
Discuss it here!

Participate in events related to Battle of Stalingrad:

• Stalingrad - Ground Strike (Arcade Battles)
  
• Stalingrad - Counter Attack (Realistic Battles)
  
• Operation Stalingrad (Simulator Battles)

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major World War Two battle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet union. German soldiers fought for control of Stalingrad in a battle marked by close quarter combat and direct assaults through air raids. Stalingrad as a city was considered to be of high strategic importance, not only as an industrial center of the USSR, but also as a symbol of Stalin’s regime.

To this day, it is often considered to be the single largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare, and the heavy losses inflicted against the German Wehrmacht also brings it into consideration as the most strategically decisive battle of World War Two. Following the Battle of Stalingrad, the German forces were unable to regain initiative in the Eastern theater of war, and hence, were forced to draw vast amounts of military forces from the West, in order to replace their losses.

Discuss it here!

Participate in events related to Battle of Stalingrad:

• Stalingrad - Ground Strike (Arcade Battles)
  
• Stalingrad - Counter Attack (Realistic Battles)
  
• Operation Stalingrad (Simulator Battles)

The Battle of Stalingrad was a major World War Two battle between Nazi Germany and the Soviet union. German soldiers fought for control of Stalingrad in a battle marked by close quarter combat and direct assaults through air raids. Stalingrad as a city was considered to be of high strategic importance, not only as an industrial center of the USSR, but also as a symbol of Stalin’s regime.

To this day, it is often considered to be the single largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare, and the heavy losses inflicted against the German Wehrmacht also brings it into consideration as the most strategically decisive battle of World War Two. Following the Battle of Stalingrad, the German forces were unable to regain initiative in the Eastern theater of war, and hence, were forced to draw vast amounts of military forces from the West, in order to replace their losses.

Discuss it here!

Complete one of the following tasks:

Stage 1:
Destroy 50enemy aircraft or destroy 50enemy ground vehicles and earn "Bastille Trophy"

Stage 2:

Destroy 100enemy aircraft or destroy 100enemy ground vehicles and have a
Chance to earn D.521 / "Bastille Trophy".

Stage 3:

Destroy 150enemy aircraft or destroy 150enemy ground vehicles and have a
Chance to earn D.521 / "Bastille Trophy".

Stage 4:

Destroy 200enemy aircraft or destroy 200enemy ground vehicles and have a
Chance to earn D.521 / "Bastille Trophy" / 10% personal discount for D.520.

Stage 5:

Destroy 250enemy aircraft. Destroy 250enemy ground vehicles,
Dewoitine D.521 / 20% personal discount for D.520 / "Bastille Trophy"

Only player vehicles are counted. Kills from the previous stage carry over to the next stage. Your personal vehicle must be rank II to V.


You gain one of the following items:
Random wager
3 of 7 different orders
10-40% Random SL booster (10 battles)
10-40% Random RP booster (10 battles)
10000-120000 SL

For this special the following multiplicators are active:

Aircraft: x2 in 'Realistic Battles'; x5 in 'Simulator Battles'
Ground vehicles: x2 in 'Simulator Battles'
You can track your progress in "Achievements" -> "Bastille Day".

Attention! For each completed stage you can earn the prizes only once. So if you complete the stage and earned your prize while controlling aircraft, all following stages must also be completed by controlling aircraft in order to progress.

Are you curious about the origins of 'Bastille Day'?
Read more about it in our dedicated article!

Discuss it here!

Complete one of the following tasks:

Stage 1:
Destroy 50enemy aircraft or destroy 50enemy ground vehicles and earn "Bastille Trophy"

Stage 2:

Destroy 100enemy aircraft or destroy 100enemy ground vehicles and have a
Chance to earn D.521 / "Bastille Trophy".

Stage 3:

Destroy 150enemy aircraft or destroy 150enemy ground vehicles and have a
Chance to earn D.521 / "Bastille Trophy".

Stage 4:

Destroy 200enemy aircraft or destroy 200enemy ground vehicles and have a
Chance to earn D.521 / "Bastille Trophy" / 10% personal discount for D.520.

Stage 5:

Destroy 250enemy aircraft. Destroy 250enemy ground vehicles,
Dewoitine D.521 / 20% personal discount for D.520 / "Bastille Trophy"

Only player vehicles are counted. Kills from the previous stage carry over to the next stage. Your personal vehicle must be rank II to V.


You gain one of the following items:
Random wager
3 of 7 different orders
10-40% Random SL booster (10 battles)
10-40% Random RP booster (10 battles)
10000-120000 SL

For this special the following multiplicators are active:

Aircraft: x2 in 'Realistic Battles'; x5 in 'Simulator Battles'
Ground vehicles: x2 in 'Simulator Battles'
You can track your progress in "Achievements" -> "Bastille Day".

Attention! For each completed stage you can earn the prizes only once. So if you complete the stage and earned your prize while controlling aircraft, all following stages must also be completed by controlling aircraft in order to progress.

Are you curious about the origins of 'Bastille Day'?
Read more about it in our dedicated article!

Discuss it here!

The long awaited Enduring Confrontation mode introduced with Update 1.51 will soon be available to the pilots of Realistic and Simulator Battles. Now you can help to make this mode even better and prepare it for launch!

Join in on the next test of “Enduring Confrontation”, now available in both
Realistic and Simulator mode with the ability to use your own lineup of vehicles.

Testing will start on the 16th of July at 16:00 GMT
The mode is available in the “Events and tournaments” tab

Today we will start our test of the ‘Enduring Confrontation’ mode in the ‘Ruhr’ location between the British and the US Air Force against the mighty German Air Force.

• Test will be available in Realistic Battles and Simulator Battles;
  
• Instead of pre-defined lineups, you can now use your own lineup in the events;
  
• There are four events with different BR ranges available for each mode:
  • 1.0 - 2.7
    
  • 2.3 - 4.3
    
  • 4.0 - 6.3
    
  • 6.0 - 9.3
• When initially joining the battle you can take aircraft, which have the minimum BR, allowed in this game session or a BR which is greater than the minimum of 0.3 or 0.7. This means, if you are in the BR range 2.3 - 4.3 in the ‘Enduring Confrontation’ mode, you can take aircraft with a BR of 2.3, 2.7, or 3.0.
  
• Profitability of the battles in the ‘Enduring Confrontation’ mode as well as the cost for joining the battle have been reduced by about three times for the test period
  
• "Spotters" have also been added as a new task type: Aircraft operated by AI can now reconnoitre enemy airfields. This is a test of a system in development and will be fully available after the new mechanics have been implemented. More info will follow in future tests.
  
• A new objective/scenario has been added: ‘Bomber Escort’.

• The bomb tonnage required to destroy enemy bases in ‘Enduring Confrontation’ mode has been slightly increased.
  
• The respawn time of bases has been increased from 10 seconds to 2 minutes.
  
• The speed of recon aircraft is now limited to 350 km/h.
  
• Increased accuracy of anti-aircraft guns.
  
• Various small issues have been fixed
  
• The bomb tonnage required to destroy enemy bases and airfields has been rebalanced:

Bases

• BR 1-2 - 5x500kg
  
• BR 2.3-3.3 - 6x500kg
  
• BR 3.7-4.7- 6x500kg
  
• BR 5-6.3 - 8x500kg
  
• BR 6.7 and higher - 8x500kg

Airfields:

• BR 1-2 - 8x500kg
  
• BR 2.3-3.3 - 10x500kg
  
• BR 3.7-4.7 - 15x500kg
  
• BR 5-6.3 - 25x500kg
  
• BR 6.7 and higher - 30x500kg

About the game mode:

• In this game mode, players can join the battle at any time (except for game sessions that have ended). The battles are subject to specific objectives and players will have multiple tasks that they will need to complete: for fighters, to destroy all enemy aircraft; for attackers, to destroy all enemy AAA; for bombers, to bomb enemy strategic targets. As well as this, we are developing more combat missions and creating additional tactical situations., which will become available to players from time to time.
  
• Aircraft repairs are free, but each flyout is paid for with Silver Lions, and the recently joined player will begin with weaker aircraft - Participants will unlock access to more powerful vehicles after some time has been spent in the battle. This time may be reduced by destroying enemy bases, airfields, and enemy aircraft.
  
• The general tasks of this mode are as follows: scouting enemy airfields, search and destruction of ground targets, interception of enemy aircraft, and many more, with the list of tasks being regularly updated. After completing specific tasks new ones will appear. For each successful action during a session, players will earn Air Domination Points (ADP), which will be counted towards the team’s score. After the session is over, the team with most ADP wins. Also, earning ADP for the team gives the player the opportunity to use more powerful aircraft earlier in battle. After each flyout, the vehicles of the type and level used will be blocked for some time, thus the player should change either the “level” of the aircraft or the type.

Features:

• Rewards for each mission is paid after a player leaves the battle and doesn’t depend on the battle’s end result. Though, a certain bonus is also added after the mission is over.
  
• After a player has chosen a certain aircraft, it will be locked for some time starting from the moment the aircraft has been destroyed. E.g. if the vehicle is available once per 30 minutes, a player can chose it 30 minutes after his vehicle was destroyed, not after he started to fly it. This also means that a player who manages to land on an allied airfield will be able to swap out his vehicle for another choice, without restarting the timer.
  
• Vehicles of the same BR and type have a common timer. Currently, two groups with common timers exist: Fighters (including light, heavy and naval) and Bombers (including all bombers and attackers).
  
• It will be useful to keep aircraft of all types in your preset so you won’t be left without an aircraft to fly in the midst of battle.
  
• Timer duration depends on Battle Ratings. The higher the BR, the longer the timer duration will be.
  
• Vehicles of the lower BR spectrum for a specific session do not come with a timer and will always be available.

If you are playing Enduring Confrontation in Simulator mode, please use this thread.
If you are playing Enduring Confrontation in Realistic mode, please use this thread.

The long awaited Enduring Confrontation mode introduced with Update 1.51 will soon be available to the pilots of Realistic and Simulator Battles. Now you can help to make this mode even better and prepare it for launch!

Join in on the next test of “Enduring Confrontation”, now available in both
Realistic and Simulator mode with the ability to use your own lineup of vehicles.

Testing will start on the 16th of July at 16:00 GMT
The mode is available in the “Events and tournaments” tab

Today we will start our test of the ‘Enduring Confrontation’ mode in the ‘Ruhr’ location between the British and the US Air Force against the mighty German Air Force.

• Test will be available in Realistic Battles and Simulator Battles;
  
• Instead of pre-defined lineups, you can now use your own lineup in the events;
  
• There are four events with different BR ranges available for each mode:
  • 1.0 - 2.7
    
  • 2.3 - 4.3
    
  • 4.0 - 6.3
    
  • 6.0 - 9.3
• When initially joining the battle you can take aircraft, which have the minimum BR, allowed in this game session or a BR which is greater than the minimum of 0.3 or 0.7. This means, if you are in the BR range 2.3 - 4.3 in the ‘Enduring Confrontation’ mode, you can take aircraft with a BR of 2.3, 2.7, or 3.0.
  
• Profitability of the battles in the ‘Enduring Confrontation’ mode as well as the cost for joining the battle have been reduced by about three times for the test period
  
• "Spotters" have also been added as a new task type: Aircraft operated by AI can now reconnoitre enemy airfields. This is a test of a system in development and will be fully available after the new mechanics have been implemented. More info will follow in future tests.
  
• A new objective/scenario has been added: ‘Bomber Escort’.

• The bomb tonnage required to destroy enemy bases in ‘Enduring Confrontation’ mode has been slightly increased.
  
• The respawn time of bases has been increased from 10 seconds to 2 minutes.
  
• The speed of recon aircraft is now limited to 350 km/h.
  
• Increased accuracy of anti-aircraft guns.
  
• Various small issues have been fixed
  
• The bomb tonnage required to destroy enemy bases and airfields has been rebalanced:

Bases

• BR 1-2 - 5x500kg
  
• BR 2.3-3.3 - 6x500kg
  
• BR 3.7-4.7- 6x500kg
  
• BR 5-6.3 - 8x500kg
  
• BR 6.7 and higher - 8x500kg

Airfields:

• BR 1-2 - 8x500kg
  
• BR 2.3-3.3 - 10x500kg
  
• BR 3.7-4.7 - 15x500kg
  
• BR 5-6.3 - 25x500kg
  
• BR 6.7 and higher - 30x500kg

About the game mode:

• In this game mode, players can join the battle at any time (except for game sessions that have ended). The battles are subject to specific objectives and players will have multiple tasks that they will need to complete: for fighters, to destroy all enemy aircraft; for attackers, to destroy all enemy AAA; for bombers, to bomb enemy strategic targets. As well as this, we are developing more combat missions and creating additional tactical situations., which will become available to players from time to time.
  
• Aircraft repairs are free, but each flyout is paid for with Silver Lions, and the recently joined player will begin with weaker aircraft - Participants will unlock access to more powerful vehicles after some time has been spent in the battle. This time may be reduced by destroying enemy bases, airfields, and enemy aircraft.
  
• The general tasks of this mode are as follows: scouting enemy airfields, search and destruction of ground targets, interception of enemy aircraft, and many more, with the list of tasks being regularly updated. After completing specific tasks new ones will appear. For each successful action during a session, players will earn Air Domination Points (ADP), which will be counted towards the team’s score. After the session is over, the team with most ADP wins. Also, earning ADP for the team gives the player the opportunity to use more powerful aircraft earlier in battle. After each flyout, the vehicles of the type and level used will be blocked for some time, thus the player should change either the “level” of the aircraft or the type.

Features:

• Rewards for each mission is paid after a player leaves the battle and doesn’t depend on the battle’s end result. Though, a certain bonus is also added after the mission is over.
  
• After a player has chosen a certain aircraft, it will be locked for some time starting from the moment the aircraft has been destroyed. E.g. if the vehicle is available once per 30 minutes, a player can chose it 30 minutes after his vehicle was destroyed, not after he started to fly it. This also means that a player who manages to land on an allied airfield will be able to swap out his vehicle for another choice, without restarting the timer.
  
• Vehicles of the same BR and type have a common timer. Currently, two groups with common timers exist: Fighters (including light, heavy and naval) and Bombers (including all bombers and attackers).
  
• It will be useful to keep aircraft of all types in your preset so you won’t be left without an aircraft to fly in the midst of battle.
  
• Timer duration depends on Battle Ratings. The higher the BR, the longer the timer duration will be.
  
• Vehicles of the lower BR spectrum for a specific session do not come with a timer and will always be available.

If you are playing Enduring Confrontation in Simulator mode, please use this thread.
If you are playing Enduring Confrontation in Realistic mode, please use this thread.